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“Washington Workload Standards Study”. Patricia B. Latsch. Complaints outgrew staff levels. Why use a formula to determine staffing levels?. 2006 legislation directed the Washington Department of Health to identify: Number of attorneys and investigators needed
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“Washington Workload Standards Study” Patricia B. Latsch
Complaints outgrew staff levels CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska
Why use a formula to determine staffing levels? • 2006 legislation directed the Washington Department of Health to identify: • Number of attorneys and investigators needed • Methodology used to determine this number • There are two approaches to developing staffing formulas: • Historic information • Time expended on disciplinary work activities CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska
Why use a study to determine staffing levels? • A study: • gives an external perspective on the tasks and activities staff do to support the disciplinary process. • provides a better estimate of the number and types of staff needed to catch up and keep up with caseloads. • identifies and describes the diversity of work performed by staff, the workload associated for different types of cases, and the time needed to do certain tasks. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska
What did the workload standards study involve? • The Department contracted with a firm to conduct and develop a study that included several stages: • Feasibility analysis • Staff training • Data collection • Data analysis • Model development • The study provided a picture of how much time staff spent on various aspects of their work CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska
What came out of the workload standards study ? • In December 2007, the contractor provided an Excel-based model designed to estimate staffing levels based on different scenarios and distribute staff equitably across the job functions. • The model includes variables that generate different resource scenarios, including changes in : • the amount of time spent on complaint resolution • the process steps involved in resolving a complaint • the volume of complaints coming in CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska
What has come out of the workload standards study ? • We used the model to identify staffing needs for the 2009-2011 budget cycle. • We have a better understanding of the time staff expend on each step of the disciplinary process. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska
Speaker Contact Information Patti Latsch Director, Investigation and Inspection Office Health Services Quality Assurance Division Department of Health (360) 236-4683 Patricia.latsch@doh.wa.gov CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska